Rabies Vaccination

I thought about it and decided against it. Even if you have rabies jabs, you still have to go and get some if you get a bite from a suspected rabid dog.
If you're being chased by a dog - stop the bike, reach down to the ground if you can, pick up a rock or pretend to and throw (or pretend to) it at the dog.
Keep the bike between you and the dog where possible. Obviously this gets more complicated with several dogs.
If you're trabelling in the very wilds of Tibet off the friendship highway as part of your tour and think you might run into some Mastiff nomad dogs, buy a Gol iron bar on a string in the market. Learn to swing it without hurting yourself. Nomad dogs know what they are.
Everywhere else, the stone worls.

As I understand it, it is a question of time. If you have the vaccination and you get bitten you still have to get a further jab, but you have more time to do it before the disease becomes fatal. So, if you are going to remote areas, where you may be a couple of days from a clinic then it is probably a good idea to have the jab.

Counter-intuitive - if you're in remote areas, the little bit of extra time the vaccine gives is largely irrelevant because you're unlikely to find the post-bite shots you'll still need. Money down the drain - I used to get rabies shots but no longer bother. Just don't get bitten! Call it the 'helmet effect' - the illusion of enhanced safety.....

That seems the popular consensus when this topic comes up, which is quite often.
Quite a while ago someone posted that the best dog deterant on the bike is to get a few spokes, which you would normally carry, and attach them to the rear carrier sticking out. The dogs don't see them, run into them, then apparently loose all chase interest quite quickly. Seems pretty easy, and he swore it works a treat.
A squirt of kerosene in their eyes works a treat also. Easy to carry in a squirty bottle.
And off bike, best don't get up close and personal with furry things.

Well, we got the Rabies jabs in London before we left, along with a host of others. As it was explained to us, if you don't have the jab and you are bitten you have to get something like 6 post-bite jabs instead of 2 if you've been vaccinated (this is from memory so don't shoot me if I am slightly fuzzy or wrong on details but this is what I remember) and also the type of jabs you need if you have not been vaccinated are different and possibly harder to find in some countries. Finally, you have less time to get these jabs if you have not been vaccinated. We thought all this together made getting the rabies vaccine worth it as if we are bitten by a dog we do not want to minimise the risk of not finding what we need in remote areas! It's your health, who cares what it costs.

On another note, we have so far been able to fend off all dogs just by stopping and staring them down. End the chase and they stop having fun. This may not apply to the widely report evil dogs of Turkey though. We'll let you know!!

This was a few years ago, but I was attacked by a dog whilst cycling- dog got away so we never found out whether it was rabid or not.
Long story short- 2 weeks worth of daily injections in the stomach in a developing country. Not pleasant. There is probably a better way of doing it but I was in Sudan and healthcare (even private) is pretty basic. I had to have the first jab within 24 hours- we were lucky that we were near Port Sudan.

If you have the vaccination and then get bitten you still need vaccinations- in your arm- I'm not sure how many but not fourteen. Anyway, now i've had the vaccine and have the a blood test to see if I still have the antibodies in me before I travel- thus not wasting money on unecessary boosters. My personal opinion is that this is cheaper, more convinent, safer and much less painful :)

Also, dogs aren't the only animals to worry about. Monkeys are pretty scary as well.

Thanks for the advice. I've made up my mind to get the vaccinations. I believe it is money well spent considering the alternative and if something happens down the road. Cheers.

This is bought up occasionally on the health branch. A few posters there have MD in their bio, that happily reply stuff. If in doubt, could be worth a try.

Just one piece of advice regarding animal attacks.
There is a company called Cold Steel in America (www.coldsteel.com) that sells a polymer version
of a south African Sjambok. A sjambok was originally made from Hippo hide, and was
used by sheperds for protection against snakes and other nasties.
I've carried one of these on tour and they are a very useful tool. In addition to being
a very effective anti-dog tool, they are light weight, flexible and can easily fit into your panniers or
can simply be strapped on top. Furthermore, being rolled up they don't look much like a
weapon, and so they don't attract attention from police or border guards.